The Unnatural Enigma of Little Pearl Prynne.
The novel, “Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, introduces to us a unique character that is often referred to as one of the most difficult children in literature: Pearl Prynne. Pearl Prynne is the bastard child to Hester Prynne and the respected Reverend Dimmesdale. Throughout the story, Pearl gives the impression of a rebellious, yet intelligent, child who is trying to get her mother and father to finally do the right thing. In Chester E. Eisinger’s article Pearl and the Puritan Heritage, Eisinger shines more light upon Pearl’s side of the story by showing her as the main victim in distress of the story. The author’s writing backs this statement by starting with how Pearl was born an illegitimate …show more content…
Nathaniel Hawthorne is referencing that scenario in this quote “The child’s own nature had something wrong in it, continually betokened she had been born amiss,- the effluence of her mother’s lawless passion.”(110). The Scarlet Letter’s writer confronts Pearl’s impish ways by tracing them back to the night Hester let every to the wind and gave into her desires, showing how this one occurrence led to Pearl being born looking into a mirror of reflective sin while growing older. Eisinger makes a comment upon the Puritan community The Scarlet Letter takes place in saying, “The Christian community does not admit Pearl or recognize her as one of its members because she belongs to nature and not of man or to human society.” (160). If it wasn’t for Hester being able to care and nurture for the developing Pearl, the young girl would probably be cast out unto the streets or she would have to settle for scraps the rest of her days if placed in another home. Being called the embodiment of sin drives the child away from the hustle and bustle of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and into the relaxing arms of the devil’s home; the …show more content…
Eisinger’s article Pearl and the Puritan Heritage shows Pearl’s true role in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne by going through her most pronounced positions; the outcast, the natural child and the cursed damsel. Even though Hester is given the main spotlight of the novel, Pearl’s part does definitely not go unnoticed but it can sneak by under the unsuspecting reader’s eye. When originally reading the book, I hadn’t guessed Pearl would make the drastic change she had made towards the end. The young girl goes from deciding her fate to being an outcast who lives in the woods to being a well mannered lady of society with in seconds of her father actually reaching out to her. Anyone can steer their own future along the passage of time, they just have to devote themselves to it and they can do anything, even the supposed living embodiment of sin- little Pearl
The novel, “Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, introduces to us a unique character that is often referred to as one of the most difficult children in literature: Pearl Prynne. Pearl Prynne is the bastard child to Hester Prynne and the respected Reverend Dimmesdale. Throughout the story, Pearl gives the impression of a rebellious, yet intelligent, child who is trying to get her mother and father to finally do the right thing. In Chester E. Eisinger’s article Pearl and the Puritan Heritage, Eisinger shines more light upon Pearl’s side of the story by showing her as the main victim in distress of the story. The author’s writing backs this statement by starting with how Pearl was born an illegitimate …show more content…
Nathaniel Hawthorne is referencing that scenario in this quote “The child’s own nature had something wrong in it, continually betokened she had been born amiss,- the effluence of her mother’s lawless passion.”(110). The Scarlet Letter’s writer confronts Pearl’s impish ways by tracing them back to the night Hester let every to the wind and gave into her desires, showing how this one occurrence led to Pearl being born looking into a mirror of reflective sin while growing older. Eisinger makes a comment upon the Puritan community The Scarlet Letter takes place in saying, “The Christian community does not admit Pearl or recognize her as one of its members because she belongs to nature and not of man or to human society.” (160). If it wasn’t for Hester being able to care and nurture for the developing Pearl, the young girl would probably be cast out unto the streets or she would have to settle for scraps the rest of her days if placed in another home. Being called the embodiment of sin drives the child away from the hustle and bustle of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and into the relaxing arms of the devil’s home; the …show more content…
Eisinger’s article Pearl and the Puritan Heritage shows Pearl’s true role in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne by going through her most pronounced positions; the outcast, the natural child and the cursed damsel. Even though Hester is given the main spotlight of the novel, Pearl’s part does definitely not go unnoticed but it can sneak by under the unsuspecting reader’s eye. When originally reading the book, I hadn’t guessed Pearl would make the drastic change she had made towards the end. The young girl goes from deciding her fate to being an outcast who lives in the woods to being a well mannered lady of society with in seconds of her father actually reaching out to her. Anyone can steer their own future along the passage of time, they just have to devote themselves to it and they can do anything, even the supposed living embodiment of sin- little Pearl